Choosing a side op mission. Its an important one though as up to this point, I have no one to translate the Russian language for me. Therefore interrogations are impossible and hold ups are sometimes fruitless as the enemy don't understand my commands. Luckily Kaz has found the location of a Soviet linguist officer of the Russian 40th Army who can help with just that. This is a capture mission.
Weapon and equipment load out. My weapon and resources are limited at this early stage in the game but the Diamond Dogs (successor organization to Big Boss' "Militaires Sans Frontières") are steadily working towards rebuilding their operations that were previously destroyed at the end of Ground Zeroes when their mother base was attacked by XOF, the Cipher organization's special operations team found years ago by Major Zero to secretly oversee the operations of FOX group.
Northern Afghanistan is a large, unstable country. Big Boss' "buddy" comes in the form of a well trained combat horse to help Big Boss traverse the long distances, rough terrain and even transport apprehended enemies
Target spotted at a small roadside checkpoint. Need to be aware of my surroundings as the open world is dynamic and unpredictable. Guard shift changes and passing trucks are among such things to watch for.
After apprehending my target after a bit of a scuffle,(I let got of him only to have him hit me, knocking me to the ground where thankfully, even though I found myself laying flat on my face, I was able to knock him of his feet and regain a hold of him) I pressed along on horseback looking to acquire at least a few more materials and personnel to continue our efforts to rebuild a new mother base offshore in the Indian Ocean. The Fulton surface-to-air recovery system is our method of choice for moving men and equiptment quickly and quietly from the AO. With the mission accomplished, I call for helicopter extract and leave the combat zone. My trusty steed is extracted as well via Fulton balloon.
A few more shots. I absolutely love the horse buddy in this game. You can lean off to either side of the saddle to hide within reason of an enemies' line of sight and even seamlessly dismount straight into a crouched position on the ground. Once again as in Ground Zeroes, animations are slick and fluid. Sandstorms also whip up from time to time which can be taken advantage of for concealment. However I learned that if you try to Fulton recover and enemy in such inclement weather it is likely that they will be dead on arrival. Love the details in this game.
